Brokenheartsville: Everything I Know
by SoThere
Summary: An outtake from the Brokenheartsville universe created by dracoisalooker76. When six-year-old Ivy Hawthorne starts school, she learns the danger that her Daddy faces at work in the mines.


_This is an outtake from the Brokenheartsville universe created by Dracoisalooker76. If you haven't read that yet, you should definitely head there first! Dracoisalooker76 was kind enough to let me play in her world for a bit, and this story is dedicated to her for all she has done for the fandom._

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><p>Considering the world she was born into, Ivy Hawthorne had an idyllic childhood.<p>

Despite the hunger all around her, she always had enough to eat, which was more than most Seam children could say. Her parents both loved her fiercely and made her feel safe and protected. And no matter where she went, she was surrounded by a network of adults whose main focus in life seemed to be making her happy.

Grandma Everdeen was teaching her to knit, careful stitches that Grandma pointed out to aunt Prim, saying Ivy might make a great healer someday. They studied the family plant book together, and Ivy was even able to replicate some of the drawings. Grandma praised her, kissing her temple and calling her "our little artist."

Nana Hawthorne doted on her constantly. They spent mornings together when Mama and Daddy were hunting, or "discussing" things in loud voices. She and Ivy would hang the sheets out together and find pictures in the clouds. In the afternoons, she'd teach Ivy how to cook, making creative recipes from whatever prey had fallen victim to the snares that week.

From the Hob to the town, everyone seemed to know the Hawthorne girl, and they always seemed overjoyed to see her. Never quite as reserved as her mother, nor as moody as her father, Ivy made friends wherever she went, even earning smiles from some of the less courteous shopkeepers in town, who would normally turn their nose up at Seam children in their midst. Something about her glossy dark curls and bright blue eyes twinkling as she greeted them melted their hearts every time.

She was treated especially well by the friendly baker, who always seemed to find a spare cookie or cheese bun whenever she and Mama stopped to do business. Peeta would get down on her level to hand her the treat, taking the extra time to ask her questions, like how was she doing today ("fine"), what was her favorite color ("red"), and how her shooting practice was going ("good.")

Trips to see Peeta normally revolved around some special occasion, like a birthday or holiday. They went most recently for her first day of school, an event that Mama insisted warranted a cookie. Ivy was proud to show off the red dress Grandma had tailored for her from one of aunt Posy's old ones, and the pretty braids that Mama had plaited, tied with the red ribbons she and Daddy had picked out together at the Hob.

When they got to the bakery she did a little twirl to show Peeta her new dress, and he smiled at her strangely. Ivy didn't think it was possible for a person to look so sad with a smile on their face, but somehow Peeta did. Whatever it was, it went away as he crouched down to hand over her special "starting school" cookie.

"For you, Ivy girl. I hope you have a great first day of school."

Ivy was a hugger. She leaned over and squeezed him around his neck, and he gave her a gentle squeeze back.

"Thank you, Peeta. I can't wait!"

He stood up and stared at Mama, neither of them saying anything for a long time. Ivy finally tugged on Mama's hand, letting her know it was time to go to school. This seemed to wake them up.

"Well," Peeta said in a quiet voice. "You better get going. Thanks for bringing her in." He turned his attention to Ivy again. "You're a beauty, just like your Mama."

Mama got a little flustered and shook her head. "I think she's got more of her father in her than me." Peeta just gave them a small smile and waved goodbye as Ivy dragged her out the door.

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><p>School wasn't quite what Ivy had expected. They spent a lot less time talking about their letters and numbers and a lot more time talking about the Capitol and the President and their district's Most Important Contribution: coal.<p>

Within a month, Ivy learned more about the coal mines than she had in the six years prior growing up as a coalminer's daughter. She had gathered that it was dirty, and that miners must work very hard, since Daddy was so tired when he came home, but that was all she knew. But now, between her teacher's lessons and playground conversations with her classmates, she was starting to pick up tidbits that scared her. She heard things about how deep into the earth the workers went, how thick the air got, and how hard to was to breathe sometimes. That coal mining was actually very, very dangerous.

"How many grandpas do you have left?" asked a classmate one day, a small boy with dark hair pointing up in spikes all over his head.

Ivy was confused. "What do you mean, 'how many are left'?"

The boy shrugged. "I mean how many are still _alive_. A couple kids have none left, but I think most of us have one, like me. Except for the merchies, of course. They pretty much all still have two."

Ivy didn't understand what he was talking about, but it all seemed incredibly unfair. The Merchant kids already got better houses and bigger lunches than the kids from the Seam. It didn't seem right that they got more grandparents, too.

"Why do they have more than the rest of us?" she asked.

The boy just laughed. "Because they don't have to work in the mines, dummy." Ivy frowned, confused and a little uncomfortable with this conversation. Luckily, the bell rang then and she filed into the classroom, lost in thought.

Mama was handling some trades at the Hob, so Nana met her after school to walk her home. Ivy was still dwelling on the conversation with her classmate and was unusually quiet.

"What's on your mind today, honey?"

Ivy shrugged, hesitant to talk to Nana about the grandfathers she never knew. The couple of times she'd asked questions before, Grandma Everdeen had gotten very sad. One time she even cried. Ivy didn't want to make her Nana cry, too.

"Nothing. Just thinking about something a boy at school said."

Nana looked concerned. "Was someone bothering you? Saying mean things?"

Ivy shook her head quickly and kicked at a stone on the ground. "No, no. I – I wanted to know…" Finally, her curiosity won out over fear. "What happened to Grandpa? How did he die?"

Nana's steps faltered for just a minute. "He... he died in an accident." She swung Ivy's hand a bit as they walked. "I thought you knew that already, honey."

"Yeah. But -" Ivy began. "What kind of accident?" Nana didn't answer right away, and after listening to the gravel crunch beneath their feet for a few steps, Ivy forged ahead with her questions.

"Was it the mines? And is that what happened to Grandpa Everdeen, too? 'Cause the kids at school were saying it was. And that the mines are real dangerous. And Daddy never told me that! And now, I - I don't -"

She was starting to cross the line into hysterics. Nana guided her to a stump a few feet away and sat her down. She put her hands on Ivy's shoulders and rubbed gently before pulling her into a hug. "It's okay! We'll talk about this more when we get home. But everything will be okay. You're daddy's a strong, smart man. Nothing's gonna happen to him."

Ivy just sniffed into Nana's shoulder, silently wondering if Grandpa wasn't _also_ strong and smart.

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><p>That night at dinner, Ivy just pushed her food around her plate. Nothing Nana had said to her made her feel any better. When they got home, Mama and Daddy had both tried to explain things in a way she could understand, but no one could tell her the one thing she wanted to hear: that the mines were a safe place to work.<p>

Mama and Daddy kept giving each other looks across the table. They weren't saying much, but Ivy liked it better than those nights they shouted at each other. Just last week they were yelling about some secret meeting that Daddy had gone to after work. Ivy didn't know what for, but she did know that Mama was really mad about it. Later that night, after she'd gone to bed, she heard them arguing in their room.

"It's all for Ivy, Catnip. Can't you see, I'm doing this for her!"

"_For her_; that's exactly why you _shouldn't_ be doing this, Gale!" Mama hissed back. "You know what happens if the Peacekeepers find out! We don't need any 'accidents' around here. Did you ever stop to think about that?"

Daddy closed their door after that, so Ivy didn't hear much more than muffled shouting. But now the word "accident" kept rolling around in her head, taking on a whole new meaning. Her tummy hurt.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Daddy said, putting his fork down. "Why don't we take a trip out to the woods this Sunday, just the three of us."

"Yeah!" Mommy chimed in. "We could go out to the lake, have a picnic…"

"…we could practice some shooting..."

"...and we could find those plants you and Grandma were talking about yesterday; you could practice drawing them."

Ivy looked back and forth between her parents. They were so earnest in their efforts to cheer her up.

"No."

"No?" they asked in unison.

"But you love the woods, Ivy." Mama seemed a little hurt.

"I do love the woods," Ivy replied. "But I don't want to go on Sunday. I want to go tomorrow."

"Now, honey, you know we can't go tomorrow. You have school."

"Nuh-uh." Ivy corrected her mother. "Tomorrow is Saturday."

Mama and Daddy looked at each other for a moment before Daddy finally spoke up.

"Well, I wish we could, sweetie, but I've got to go to work tomorrow."

Ivy pouted a little, then asked to be excused. Her belly hurt too much to eat anything.

When Daddy came to tuck her in later, she clung to his neck and cried. "Please, Daddy. Don't go there anymore! I don't want you to!"

He hugged her tight then lay her back against her pillows. "It's my _job_, Ivy. It's what I have to do so we can keep our house, and have food to eat all winter long." He cupped her face in his hands and swiped the tears from her cheeks with his big thumbs. He looked her in the eyes, giving her his most serious look. "But I promise you, I'm very, _very_ careful."

"But - maybe... Can't you get a new job? Maybe in town? You could work for Mr. Cartwright! Or at the butcher's! You already know how to prepare meat!"

Daddy's jaw squeezed and clenched. "It doesn't work that way, sweetie. Townies don't want folks from the Seam coming to work for them."

"Not all of them! I bet you could work for Peeta! He would hire you!"

"No, Ivy," Daddy explained, his voice a little softer. "Even Mr. Mellark knows that just wouldn't work."

"But-"

"_No_. I know it's hard to understand, but the mines are where I work. That's all there is to it. But listen - before you were born, I promised your Mama that I would take care of you both. And I always keep my promises. Right?"

Ivy nodded, her lip quivering a bit before she launched herself into his arms. Daddy squeezed her tight. "Always," he whispered in her ear.

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><p>But Daddy's promises weren't good enough for her. Ivy decided she needed to do something herself to stop him from going back to the mines. She wouldn't get any rest until she did whatever she could to make sure he wouldn't get hurt.<p>

After a while, she heard Mama check the front door lock and come to her bedside. Ivy closed her eyes tight and pretended to be asleep. Mama adjusted her blanket, gave her a kiss on her forehead, and whispered her goodnights.

Ivy listened to her mother's footsteps head into their bedroom. When it was quiet again, she tiptoed to her door and peeked out. The house was dark, and her parents' bedroom door was slightly ajar. She could hear the sounds of them getting ready for bed.

Grabbing her blanket and pillow, Ivy silently padded through the house to the front door. Luckily she inherited her parents stealth, and was able to do this without alerting anyone to her presence. She sat down on her blanket and cuddled her pillow to her chest. She'd stop Daddy from going to work somehow. She wouldn't let him out when he got up tommorow. She'd talk sense into him, play sick - whatever it took to stop him from leaving.

All she had to do was stay awake long enough to make sure she caught him before he tried to leave, she thought with a yawn.

Her parents' voices drifted across the room. They sounded different to Ivy; soft and warm and friendly. It wasn't a tone she was used to hearing them use with each other.

"I feel awful Catnip, but there's nothing I can do." Daddy let out a sigh. "You know I'd never do anything to hurt her. And I feel like I am hurting her, just by doing my job."

"Don't do this to yourself, Gale. It's not your fault."

"Then why do I feel like it is?!" Daddy raised his voice a bit, then lowered it again when Mama shushed him. "You didn't see the look on her face. It's like I was breaking her heart."

"You're a good father, Gale. She's a very lucky little girl." Mama's voice was gentle, the one she used whenever Ivy was sad or afraid. "And...last week... I know..." Her voice dropped. "I know you wouldn't get _involved_ in anything that would hurt her."

"Of course not. I love her so much. You and Ivy, you're my whole world."

"I know."

"But you also know what lies ahead, if nothing changes. We're finally close to getting Posy through it. We've been very lucky so far. But the odds won't be in our favor forever."

"Gale-"

"No, Katniss. We've got six years." Daddy's voice broke. "_Six_. You saw how fast these six went. I won't let it happen. I can't - "

"Shhhh." Mama's voice was wobbly too. "Stop." Ivy thought she heard something like kissing.

"I mean it, Katniss. As long as there's a breath left in my body, I will make sure she is safe."

Mama's voice was just above a whisper now. "I know you will, Gale." More kissing sounds. "I know."

Ivy fought to keep her eyes open, but the quiet whispers of comfort coming from her parents' bedroom eventually lulled her off to sleep.

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><p>It was still dark when she was lifted into a strong pair of arms, pressed against a familiar firm chest. She was so tired, she was sure she was still dreaming.<p>

"What was she doing out there?" a voice like Daddy's whispered as he lay her on her bed.

"I think she was waiting for you, to try to stop you from going." Mama replied.

Scratchy whiskers grazed her cheek with a light kiss. "She's amazing," Daddy said. "She's the best of both of us."

Mama was quiet. Just as Ivy was falling into a deeper sleep, she heard her say, "She's the best thing that ever happened to us."

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><p>When Ivy woke for real, hours later, cozy in her own bed with the sun shining on her face, she wept at her failure.<p>

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><p>Not even the jingle of the bell at Mellark's Bakery could cheer Ivy up this morning.<p>

Mama had insisted it would be a good day to run errands, to keep their mind off things, and the first stop was the bakery, where they would order a special treat to celebrate Ivy's upcoming birthday.

"Hello there," Peeta's friendly voice called to them from behind the counter. "How are you lovely ladies doing this morning?"

"Hi, Peeta," Mama responded. Ivy folded her arms across her chest, her features pressed in a scowl, and looked out the window. She was _not_ going to be cheerful today. And that was that.

"Well…" Peeta came around to see them and crouched down in his usual position. "This is not the face of a happy Ivy. Is everything okay?"

No everything was most definitely _not_ okay. But she wasn't talking. She was _m-a-d_ MAD.

Mama put a hand on her shoulder. "Ivy's a little cranky today. She stayed up late last night hoping to stop Gale from going to work today." She ran a hand down her daughter's braid and wrapped the end of the ribbon around her finger. "She's been learning a lot about the mines at school this month," she said in a quiet voice.

Peeta's eyebrows raised in understanding. "Ahhh, I see. And she's worried about her daddy having to go work there now... Is that right?"

"Yes!" Ivy could no longer hold her tongue. She didn't know how Mama could stay silent for so long when she was mad at Daddy. Ivy wanted to scream and yell and tell people how she felt. "I don't _want _him to go to work there, but he won't even listen to me! And I told him he could work here for you instead and he won't even try! He says it's cause he loves me, but he's not being fair!"

Peeta stood up to his full height and looked over at her mother. "I see. Well this _is_ a predicament. Let's see if we can figure it out together." He reached a hand out to Ivy. She eyed him warily for a minute, but she eventually let him take her hand and lead her to the back of the bakery. Mama followed behind and stood at her side when he lifted her up to sit on the counter.

"So." Peeta placed a hand on each side of her. "You're worried something might happen to your daddy, right?" Ivy nodded solemnly. "But I happen to know that there has not been an accident at the mines in quite some time. Do you know why that is?"

Ivy was intrigued. This was not an angle that had been presented yet by the other grown-ups in her life. She shook her head and waited for Peeta to continue.

"Well, they've been mining here in District 12 for many many years. And they've learned a lot over that time. They've learned ways to make things safer for the workers, and to prevent a lot of the accidents from happening in the first place. So the truth is, there just aren't as many accidents as there used to be."

Ivy's scowl softened a bit.

"And also," Peeta continued, "I'm pretty sure your daddy is one of the tallest, strongest, most hard-working men in Panem. Isn't that true?"

Ivy nodded slowly. Yes, Daddy was all of those things.

"And I know that he can handle himself in almost any situation, even against a wild bear, for instance. Isn't that right?" Ivy nodded again. She remembered a time last summer that Daddy had encountered such a situation while hunting in the woods. Somehow he had been able to get away from the bear with just a few scratches and an incredible story.

"So if he's _that _smart and _that _strong, do you think he'd really get stuck in a situation that he couldn't figure his way out of?"

Ivy shook her head. This all _seemed_ to make sense...

But Peeta wasn't finished. "And even if, say, there _was _some sort of unexpected problem at his job… Isn't your Grandma Everdeen the best healer in all of District 12? Why, she'd fix him right up! Wouldn't she?"

_Of course she would! _Ivy couldn't wipe the smile off her face now. Grandma could fix just about anybody who walked through her door. Why didn't she think of that?

Peeta touched a finger to the tip of her nose. "I don't know about you, but I think we've solved this one. What do you think, Ivy?"

She threw her arms around him and put her chin on his shoulder. "Thank you, Peeta!"

He stepped back and put his hands on his hips. "No more worrying?" Ivy shook her head, and almost instantly, her stomach let out a loud growl. She was starting to regret not eating her dinner last night. Or breakfast this morning.

Peeta gave her a grin. "Now we can move on to more important matters: cheese bun, or cinnamon bun?"

Ivy tapped her finger on her chin as though she was debating, but there was only one answer to that question. "Cheese bun!"

"On the double!" Peeta lifted her down off the counter and she curled into her mother's side while he went around back to get her a fresh, warm bun. She ate it quickly, a soft dusting of flour coating her hands and cheeks.

"So, Miss Ivy, what kind of cupcake would you like for your birthday?"

"Oh, Peeta, no, we can't afford that. We were just going to get the usual cookie," Mama explained.

"Nonsense," Peeta dismissed. "Any little girl who loves her Daddy this much deserves a special cupcake for her birthday."

Mama looked worried. "But Gale, he-"

"- can bring me an extra squirrel next time he stops by." Peeta offered. "And we'll call it even." He looked at Mama, his eyes pleading. "Please, Katniss. Let me do this."

Ivy watched as the two adults negotiated, and she was excited to hear Mama agree to the birthday cupcake. Mama watched quietly as she and Peeta planned out the details for a chocolate cupcake with red frosting decorated with a tiny bow and arrow made out of sugar. She couldn't wait to share it with Mama and Daddy. This was going to be the best birthday ever.

Before they left, she tugged on Mama's hand and pulled her down to whisper a question in her ear. Mama nodded, nudging her to handle the rest of the transaction on her own.

"Peeta, I'd like to get a special cookie for my Daddy. We're going on a picnic tomorrow!"

"A picnic sounds like a lot of fun." He finished wiping the counter, and met Ivy at the trays of cookies inside the case. "What's your daddy's favorite cookie?"

Ivy looked over the selections with a puzzled expression. "I don't really know… What's _your _favorite cookie, Peeta?"

Customers must not ask Peeta about his favorites very often, because he seemed surprised by the question. "I, um, well, I really like a sugar cookie, I guess."

Ivy beamed. "Then that's what I want to get him. One of the ones with red sugar, please! Red is _my_ favorite!"

Peeta gave her a smile and wrapped the cookie up in wax paper before handing it to her in a little bag.

"I remember, Ivy. I remember everything about you."

Mama and Peeta said their goodbyes, and Ivy waved to Peeta one last time through the shop window. He watched them as they walked away.

Ivy held the bag in one hand and Mama's hand in the other. They chatted happily about their upcoming picnic, and made plans to invite Grandma and aunt Prim to dinner soon.

Ivy thought about red ribbons and chocolate cupcakes; about collecting pretty autumn leaves and practicing with her bow. She thought about Mama and Daddy, Grandma, and Nana, and aunt Prim and Posy, and all of her uncles; of the nice people in the Hob and in town.

Mama and Daddy were right - she might live in the Seam, but she knew she was a very lucky little girl.

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><p><em>Thank you for reading! If you want to chat, visit me on tumblr: sothereff<em>


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